Chapter 25: A Quiet Mistake
Moving quietly through the empty streets, Su Yan made his way toward the eastern city wall.
He crossed the main street, then slipped into the winding alleys behind the noodle shop, where smoke was already curling from the chimney into the dark before dawn.
Over the past six months, this path had become second nature to him.
Finally reaching the base of the wall, he first made sure no one was looking before materializing a barrier beside it.
Months of practice had taught Su Yan just how little Spirit Power Bastion needed to hold its shape, and in the dark the result was far less conspicuous than the brighter shields he used in combat.
Stepping onto it, he materialized another, then another, climbing higher and higher.
When he was halfway up, he paused, placing a steadying hand against the weathered grey bricks as he looked back.
From here, he could see thin plumes of smoke rising from scattered houses, and small points of candlelight glowing where early risers had already begun their morning preparations.
Continuing his climb, he reached the top of the wall.
Carefully peering over it, he found the usual guard there—an old greying man stuck with the shift no one wanted, head drooping against his spear as he dozed through the last stretch before dawn.
Satisfied the coast was clear, Su Yan pulled himself over the battlement. Then he crossed to the far side and settled at the edge, waiting quietly for the first light of sunrise.
Ever since he had become relatively proficient with this aspect of his first Soul Skill, he had been trying out different ways to use it, and this had become one of his favourites. The quiet calm before dawn, when the hustle and bustle of everyday life had yet to fully awaken. While some might have called it lonely, Su Yan found it peaceful. These were the moments when he could let his worries slip away and allow his mind to go blank.
A faint chill brushed against his skin, making Su Yan shiver and pulling him from his thoughts. Refocusing on the view before him, he watched as the dim glow behind the mountain slowly brightened and the morning sun began to rise over its peak. Light spilled across the forest canopy, gradually washing away the last of the night's gloom. Wherever it touched, colour followed. And when the sunlight finally climbed the city wall and reached him, Su Yan closed his eyes, letting its warmth sink into him and drive away the lingering chill of the wind.
Su Yan sat there in quiet stillness until a slight sound pulled him back to the present. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the old man beginning to stir. Moving quickly, Su Yan slipped back to the inner side of the wall, dropping off the edge and materializing a barrier beneath himself to catch his fall.
Barrier by barrier, Su Yan lowered himself until he reached the ground once more. Looking back up and hearing no alarm, he slipped into the alleys again, arriving just as the noodle shop was opening for the morning.
"Boss Wu, my usual, please!"
Su Yan called as he took a seat outside the shop.
"Ah, Su Yan. Coming right up."
Boss Wu replied as he tossed a large batch of noodles into the pot.
Su Yan sat and waited, watching the streets slowly come alive as more people began to stir. Several of the regulars were already making their way toward Boss Wu's shop.
One of them was a burly man with a group of labourers trailing behind him.
"Su Yan, you're awake early as always."
"It's a habit, what can I say? And Boss Wu's first batch is always the best."
"Ha! Ain't that the truth."
As the group sat down beside and around Su Yan, he noticed one of the younger men had a black eye and bruises along his cheek and jaw.
"What happened to him?" Su Yan asked.
"Oh, little Meng? Got jumped by some thugs on his way home last night. When me and the boys went to get his money back, we found the bastards already laid out. Must've tried to rob the wrong person."
The burly man gave Su Yan a considering look.
"Hm. You sure you don't know anything about that?"
"If it were me, I'd already be asking you to treat me to a meal," Su Yan said mischievously.
"Please, great hero, spare me and my meagre savings. I still need those for drinking," the burly man said, cupping his hands and giving Su Yan an exaggerated bow.
"Pfft. Lucky for you, I'm not the one who did it. Though I have to ask, are you sure you want to use your money for drink? Didn't you say you promised to buy your wife a lovely gift for your anniversary this year?"
The burly man's eyes widened.
"Ah…"
"You forgot, didn't you?"
The man scratched the back of his head, his cheeks flushing a deep red.
At moments like this, Su Yan truly had to wonder how a man that rough had ever managed to court someone as delicate as his wife.
Before Su Yan could needle him any further, Boss Wu came out with his food.
"Here you go, Su Yan. One big bowl of noodles with pork, egg, and greens. Eat up while it's hot."
"Thanks, Boss Wu."
Looking back at the burly man, Su Yan added, "I don't have to say anything else, right?"
The man shook his head quickly.
"Good."
Su Yan grabbed a pair of chopsticks and dug into his food with relish.
As he ate, more bowls were set down around him, and the chatter soon gave way to the sounds of eating and the steady slurping of noodles. There was a reason Boss Wu's shop was so popular. The portions were generous, and the food was genuinely delicious.
Finishing his bowl, Su Yan left 5 copper soul coins on the table and headed back into the now-busy streets.
He wandered for a while in search of a smithy. Over the past few months, as his Bastion training had grown more intense, Su Yan had started to run into a real problem balancing everything. Manifesting Rapture parts for Nihilister, keeping up with his own training, and still finding time for snacks with Xiao Wu was beginning to stretch him thin.
So he had decided to look into the metallurgy of the Douluo Dalu world and see whether he could find anything Nihilister might actually accept.
He knew this world possessed special metals of its own. Tang San had later come into contact with materials like that, and Gengxin City was practically famous for such things. But that was one matter. Finding anything even remotely worthwhile in a place like Nuoding was another.
Still, even if he failed to find anything rare, buying a supply of ordinary metal might ease the pressure on his training a little.
The rhythmic ringing of hammer on metal guided him deeper into the street. Before he even reached the smithy itself, he could already see smoke rising from the forge and hear the low wheeze of the bellows at work.
When he finally saw who was working there, his eyes narrowed.
Of all the people to run into here, it just had to be Tang San.
Not wanting to deal with Tang San at all, Su Yan turned around and walked away.
There was bound to be another smithy he could buy from.
By the time he finished making the rounds, the bright light of morning had long since given way to the warmer glow of late afternoon. After visiting several smithies, he had gained a much better feel for the prices. The lowest-quality iron was usually measured in copper or silver soul coins, depending on the amount. Mid-quality iron was firmly in the silver soul coin range, while the very best pieces were priced in gold soul coins.
As for special metals, there were none—or at least none that Su Yan could identify. Returning to one of the better-priced smithies, he bought a sample of both the mid-grade and higher-grade iron before making his way to Teacher Lin's to find Nihilister.
Finding Nihilister lounging in the courtyard as always, Su Yan walked over.
"Nihilister, I brought you some metal to try. Let me know if either of these is acceptable."
He held out the piece of mid-grade iron first.
Nihilister looked at it, took a bite, and immediately spat it back out.
"What the hell is this? It's disgusting."
She continued spitting out the fragments, her expression turning darker by the second.
"Are you trying to piss me off?"
Su Yan raised both hands in surrender.
"No. I'm just trying to see if there's anything here that suits your tastes. Look, this one is the best quality they had. Just tell me if it's acceptable."
He quickly passed her the higher-grade piece.
Nihilister stared at him for a hard moment before taking a small bite.
Then she spat that out too.
"It's not even as good as Husk-level Raptures."
Her eyes narrowed at Su Yan.
"Now get out."
"What?"
"I said. Get. Out!"
Su Yan ran for the door.
After running through several streets, he finally dropped into a seat at a tea house to catch his breath.
He made a mental note never to feed Nihilister local scrap again unless he was absolutely sure it met her standards.
Closing his eyes for a moment, Su Yan let out a slow breath. Then the smell drifting over from the nearby food stalls caught his attention, and another idea surfaced.
If he could not find an alternative for Nihilister, maybe he could find one for Xiao Wu.
He was on his feet again almost immediately, moving from stall to stall as he sampled what they had and picked out the ones he thought tasted best. By the time he was done, he was carrying several bags' worth of snacks.
Then he turned and made his way back toward Nuoding Academy.
It took Su Yan a little while to find Xiao Wu, but he eventually spotted her sitting on a branch overlooking the courtyard.
"Xiao Wu!"
She looked down, and the moment she spotted Su Yan, her face lit up. A bright smile spread across it as she leapt straight from the branch toward him.
Su Yan reacted quickly, turning his back so the food skewers would not stab into her. A moment later, Xiao Wu crashed into him, arms wrapping around him as she clung to his back.
"Su Yan! You came to play with me! I thought I wouldn't be able to find anyone today."
Then her eyes dropped to the bags in his hands.
"Oohhh, are those snacks for me!?"
She jumped off Su Yan's back and darted around to his front, snatching the food from his hands. Finding a place to sit, she immediately started eating, a beaming smile spreading across her face.
Su Yan watched quietly as she happily devoured the snacks.
"Now that you've tried everything, tell me which ones were your favourites."
Her mouth still full and her eyes gleaming, Xiao Wu began pointing out the bags she liked most from the pile: candied hawthorns, sweet bean buns, and peanut brittle.
After swallowing the food in her mouth, Xiao Wu tilted her head and asked, "Why did you bring so many snacks anyway?"
"I was trying to see which ones you liked, so I could bring those instead of our nightly snack time. I've been training a lot lately, and I'm trying to balance my time and Spirit Power a bit more."
Su Yan answered as he took a bite of one of the sweet bean buns.
"These are good. So, what do you say, Xiao Wu?"
Looking up, Su Yan saw that Xiao Wu's head had dipped low, her bangs hiding her eyes from view.
"Xiao Wu?"
Then he noticed it—her shoulders shaking slightly, and the quiet sound of sniffling.
Su Yan stepped closer and reached out, but Xiao Wu suddenly leapt to her feet. The remaining snacks spilled from her lap and scattered across the ground.
The moment he saw her face clearly, Su Yan froze. Her nose was red, tears were already streaming down her cheeks, and the hurt in her expression was impossible to miss.
"You idiot!"
She shouted it at him and then turned and ran.
Su Yan stood there, stunned for a moment, replaying the previous exchange in his mind before finally understanding why she was upset.
He moved before he had even formed a proper plan, running in the direction Xiao Wu had gone. He searched all over the academy, then out into the streets, but he could not find her anywhere. He ran himself ragged until the sun dipped below the horizon and night once again claimed the sky.
By the time he finally trudged back to the academy, exhaustion weighed heavily on him. After checking the dorm and finding no sign of her, one last place came to mind.
Making his way up the stairs toward the roof, he found the usually locked door hanging open. The broken lock lay abandoned to one side.
Pushing the door open and stepping onto the roof proper, Su Yan was greeted by a wide open space bathed in moonlight. Near the centre of the roof sat Xiao Wu.
She was curled in on herself, knees drawn up to her chest and arms wrapped tightly around them, her head resting there.
Su Yan walked over slowly and sat down beside her.
"Xiao Wu…"
She gave no sign she had heard him.
Reaching out, Su Yan gave her sleeve a small tug and tried again.
"Xiao Wu."
This time she reacted, but only by curling further into herself.
Su Yan grimaced, but before he could say anything more, Xiao Wu spoke first.
"I miss my mom."
Su Yan paused, thinking carefully before he finally asked, "What was she like?"
Xiao Wu's grip tightened around her knees.
"She was warm," she said softly. "Really warm. And beautiful too. When I got scared, she would hold me. When I couldn't sleep, she would sing to me. If anyone picked on me, she would always stand up for me." Her voice wavered. "And she always brought me good food. Really good food."
Her shoulders trembled again, and when she spoke next, her voice came out small and unsteady.
"I miss her hugs. I miss her songs." A tear slipped free and ran down her cheek. "I just… I miss her."
After that, the words started coming more easily. One memory led into another, and though some made Xiao Wu cry harder, others brought faint, shaky little smiles to her face. Su Yan sat quietly beside her and listened, letting her speak until the ache in her voice slowly softened.
When silence fell once again, Su Yan finally spoke.
"Xiao Wu… I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound like I didn't care about our time together. I do care. I treasure that time with you. I just… lost sight of it for a moment."
Su Yan held out a hand toward her.
"If you'll still have this idiot as your friend, I'd still like to spend that time with you."
Xiao Wu slowly reached out and took his hand.
"I'd like that."
She said softly with a small smile, her eyes still damp with tears.
For a while after that, neither of them said anything more, sitting side by side beneath the moonlight with their hands still clasped together.